1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the art of music. More particularly, it relates to the art of playing music (generally musical chords) on stringed instruments.
2. Background and Description of the Related Art
Existing methods for learning how to play chords on a guitar, banjo, ukulele, or similar chord producing stringed instrument traditionally require a lengthy startup phase. It may take weeks before a beginner can successfully complete even a simple three chord song, using chord shapes D, G, and A, for example.
Current available methods of instruction require a new student to learn to translate either traditional note notation, chord charts, tablature chord notation, or musical chord names, such as “Bm7” into accurate chord fingering shapes (see FIG. 9, an illustration of prior art).
To play a three chord song using the D, G, and A chords, the beginner must first conceptually learn which strings in which frets must be pressed down to form the D chord. Once this is accomplished, the beginner must learn to physically form their fingers into the shape required to press the appropriate strings and leave the other strings untouched. This step can take a fair amount of time in itself and can be very frustrating for the beginner.
After successfully learning to finger the D chord shape, the beginner must repeat the above steps for the G chord and again for the A chord. Learning to successfully finger each chord can be fairly time consuming for a beginner. After successfully accomplishing the above for all three chord shapes, the beginner must learn to quickly change hand shapes from one chord shape to the next in the proper tempo. This last step is also takes a lot of time before success is achieved and can be very frustrating for the beginner.
Only after completing all of the above, can a beginning player successfully complete and play even a simple three chord song. After achieving success with the three chords above, the process repeats itself for each new chord that a beginner tries to learn; each new chord has a unique chord shape to memorize and to learn to properly finger.
Additionally, songs played in a traditional manner commonly use bar chords requiring one finger to press multiple strings and adding one or more (typically 2 or 3) additional fingers pressing down strings in order to achieve the correct chord. Many beginners find these multi-fingered bar chords to be very, very difficult and frustrating as well, and progress often stops when multi-finger bar chords are required to play a given musical composition.
Finally, pressing down on individual strings can initially be very painful for the beginner, until calluses are formed on the fingertips from repeated use.
The lengthy startup period and other factors described above often leads to beginners giving up on learning how to play a stringed instrument, due to pain, frustration and lack of success.
At the present time, there is no systematic instructional alternative to learning multiple, complex chord shapes by reading and translating traditional music notation, visual chord charts, tablature chord notation, or musical chord names into fingering shapes. Although many alternate tunings have been used extensively in prior art on a case-by-case basis, no simplified notation system or systematic method of instruction currently exists.
Many alternate music notation systems have been introduced by others, but generally fall into the following categories: 1. Numbering keys on a piano keyboard, numbering fingers used, or re-naming notes; 2. Modifying the traditional musical staff; 3. Using different symbols or colors for notes on a staff; 4. Modifying tablature used for stringed instruments; 5. Using graphic representations of notes; or 6. Combinations of the above. There is no prior art music notation system similar to the fret numbering chord notation used in the current invention devoid of tablature, chord names or musical staff.
Many visual training aids for fingering chords on the guitar, etc., with visual chord fingering information or musical scale information attached to the instrument have been proposed, but none provide fret identification information for use with a corresponding simplified notation and fingering system where the key information needed is what fret to use. Guitars have been manufactured for hundreds of years, but have not been manufactured with each fret location marked as proposed in this invention. This is due to the fact that much of the utility of this marking is gained through the use of the new method proposed. Beginners using prior art methods typically start learning chords in first position, and do not venture up the neck or need to know where the 9th fret is, for example, until they are more advanced and are already familiar with the neck of the instrument.
This invention provides a means to drastically reduce the time required to learn to play chords on a stringed instrument by eliminating the major obstacles to success, including the elimination of the need to learn and physically execute multiple chord fingering configurations and the elimination of the need to learn and memorize chord names and their corresponding fingering shapes.